I'm only 22 years old.

when people are sick they go the hospital. you are the nurse. it's part of the job description.

To the original poster: 22 is an adult. Nursing is difficult, but you're not a kid anymore!

when people are sick they go the hospital. you are the nurse. it's part of the job description. !

Anyways, to the OP, I can see that it must be pretty hard to be an oncology nurse and you seem pretty depressed in the field. Maybe you should try a different specialty? I'm sure it couldn't hurt. Maybe you just need a break.

My friends are finishing up college with majors like sculpture and philosophy.

Be glad you have a real job

and suffering exists whether you are 22 or 102- better to wake up and notice it now than to spend a lifetime in ignorance

I was 22 when I started my nursing career and can empathize with your experiences as I started in Critical Care. However, it seems like you are having a difficult time working with the patient types you see on an oncology floor. Oncology is one of the most emontionally-drainang units you'll probably ever work in simply because it's bad things happing just because - not because of a car accident, not (typically) because of something the patient did to cause the disease (unless they're a smoker with lung CA), and not because they're a bad person. What you need to do for yourself it seems is decide if this is the type of environment you want to work in or if you want to try a different area that isn't quite as draining. However, we're nurses - we see people at the lowest of the low and it's our job to protect our patients from whatever may come at them, be strong when they need it, and be able to let it go and go home afterwards.

I was licensed at 22. It's old enough!

I started nursing at 23. The CNAs can be my mother. I was scared to delegate tasks to them because in my culture young people always bow down to the elder ones..I had to shed a bit of my honorifics. My patients can be my grandparents. They tell me "What is this kid doing here?!" With all these old people around, I feel so small, but there is nothing I can do because I'm the nurse and I have to take charge.

At 21 I was a licensed RN BSN, working in an ICU. At 22 I am a charge nurse on a med surg floor. It is the maturity level that counts, not the age.

when people are sick they go the hospital. you are the nurse. it's part of the job description.

Yes, it is part of the job; however, some people are not designed to deal with these aspects of the job. If that is the case, they need to do something else. Things we take for granted every day may terrify other people. No shame in admitting this and doing something else. In addition, some things may bother us while others are left unscathed. I thought I had experienced everything and there was nothing that would not bug me. Then, I experienced some situations overseas that made me think "holy crap I hope this does not keep me up in the middle of the night 15 years from now." In addition, I do not agree with the "your not a kid get over it attitude."

Oncology, what is your question or statement? Your post seems to indicate you are in some type of distress; however, it is quite vague and perhaps you could clearly state your problem or concern.

If you are truly at a point where the emotional baggage from your work is causing serious problems, get out and do something else. Perhaps all you need is a break or time to regain perspective. Possibly, you need to do something completely different. You may need to talk to somebody with professional credentials as well.

Be glad you have a real job

and suffering exists whether you are 22 or 102- better to wake up and notice it now than to spend a lifetime in ignorance

Your joking right?

somehow when i was 22 i don't ever remember saying 'i am only 22 y/o'

if you feel like this is type of nursing is a bad fit for you send out some feelers for a different type of nursing..don't feel like you are stuck in a rut

My friends are finishing up college with majors like sculpture and philosophy. I just moved away from my hometown in June. I don't have a lot of close friends here besides the boyfriend I live with. I'm only 22 years old. Am I really supposed to be seeing this much suffering? To face these problems? Am I really the LEADER in the hospital experience? I'm only 22 and I think people that only have breast cancer, no mets, are the luckiest people in the world. I think that people with cancer everywhere, who are combative and try to get out of bed and don't know who they are and need to constantly be on narcotics are the norm. I am ONLY TWENTY TWO.

Your friends will wake up one day and find they will have the hardest time making a real living. There are some sculptors who are famous, a lot of them only after their death. On the other hand, you are 22 and already able to support yourself as an adult should be able to do. It will take awhile but you will either find you love oncology or cannot put up with the emotional strain. There are many other areas in nursing in which you can explore and finally find your passion. I'm 60 and lived with the illusion that most people are healthy until I realized that all the pharmacies on every corner are always busy. I guess there is a wide spectrum of "healthy"